Two-stage RO reverse osmosis plant helps Tsingtao Brewery,Advanced water treatment technologies
Two-stage RO reverse osmosis plant helps Tsingtao Brewery
15th January 2025
Advanced water treatment technologies
Recently, Tsingtao Brewery successfully introduced two-stage RO (Reverse Osmosis) equipment, combined with an ultrapure water polishing system, to realise the ultra-high purity standard of the production water, providing a reliable water quality guarantee for the semiconductor manufacturing process. The application of this technology not only significantly improves product quality, but also saves operating costs for the enterprise, becoming a benchmark case in the industry.
Ultra-Pure Water (UPW) is an indispensable resource for critical processes such as wafer cleaning, etching and polishing in the beer manufacturing process. Any trace of impurities in the water (such as ions, particles or organics) can lead to defects and affect product yields. As a result, the semiconductor industry has extremely stringent water quality requirements, with a resistivity of 18.2 MΩ-cm and a total organic carbon (TOC) content of less than 1 ppb.
To address this challenge, the company uses a two-stage RO plant combined with an ultrapure water polishing system.
The system achieves ultrapure water preparation through the following steps:
Pre-treatment: Multi-media and activated carbon filters remove suspended solids, organics and residual chlorine from the raw water.
Two-stage RO reverse osmosis:
The first RO stage removes more than 95% of dissolved salts and impurities.
The second stage RO further purification to ensure that the produced water reaches the high purity standard.
Ultra-pure water polishing: Residual ions, microorganisms and particles are removed by EDI (electrodeionisation), UV steriliser and ultrafiltration (UF).
Water storage and distribution: High cleanliness storage tanks and pipelines are used to prevent secondary pollution.
Since the system was put into use, the water quality indicators have fully met the strict requirements of the semiconductor industry:
Resistivity: 18.2 MΩ-cm (25°C).
TOC (Total Organic Carbon): <1 ppb.
Particulate matter: <1 particle/mL (particle size ≥ 0.1 µm).
Microorganisms: <1 CFU/mL
In addition, the system has a water recovery rate of over 75%, significantly reducing wastewater discharge and water consumption, saving the company operational costs. The automated control system also ensures the long-term stable operation of the equipment, which further improves the production efficiency.
The successful implementation of the case for the semiconductor industry provides a reference water treatment solutions. Two-stage RO reverse osmosis equipment with its high efficiency, energy saving, stable characteristics, is becoming the high-tech manufacturing areas of ultra-pure water preparation technology of choice.
Expert Opinion
Experts said: ‘The application of two-stage RO reverse osmosis equipment combined with ultrapure water polishing system not only solves Tsingtao Brewery's demand for ultrapure water, but also provides a new technological path for other high-precision manufacturing industries (e.g. pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, etc.). In the future, with the continuous upgrading of technology, this system will play an important role in more fields.’
Editor: Grace xin
Contact: xinxinrose@outlook.com